Lawrence McDonald: ‘It Was Rotten at the Head’

9/13/2013 4:21PM

Lawrence McDonald, vice president of distressed debt and convertible securities trading, recounts the drama and stress on Lehman Brothers' employees, who he says were for the most part good and talented.

This transcript has been automatically generated and may not be 100% accurate.

... I ... the the the ... I ... the result ... was twice president distressed and convertible securities trading ... at Lehman Brothers ... we knew was that culture was the ... isthe Lake is twenty thousand people ... to move with the same or India ... he knows the real scrap the up and coming ... middleweight ... with the fourth largest investment bank ... but at that time he knew that the after glass ceiling and dismantle by ... crane Leech Wylie in two thousand ... of ... as you are there you realize how small the bank was bailed to face because ... that's what gave the culture sets ... November is working really hard because ... of that given the day ... the head with Citigroup and JPMorgan with ... the trillions of dollars of deposits ... the Lehman was just ... an investment Lee was a wonderful institution ... um ... it was ... really it was never run of the core that swirl the beauty was ... shoes Ryman had ... my friends are down at that the Treasury building ... that was something that blew me away the stories from inside ... and that that building was the sense that ... in one room there was AIG on life support ... another room this Merrill Lynch on life support ... in another room ... to think about this a wash initials on life support ... to every differ over the building ... so what what friends of the list is the preferred team we would believe that the in two armed ... guards that were standing with him as you walk in the bathroom back for the new one a body Waltzing around from room to room was just fascinating time ... for those of the things that I remember the stories about that we can about how to lose in that connection with potentially getting a deal that the ultimate ... story in from the inside was this twenty four thousand nine hundred and ninety two people making money ... in a guys losing ... in decimated so stressful said most of Lehman's employees ... for good ... Lena most and were doing ... good business ... practices on just a few people to live through that and ... then you deal with the massive wealth destruction to a deal with your colleagues ... awesome wonderful people wonderfully talented people to this day either ... but are really leading other firms are on Wall Street ... to watch TV Czerwonka for that type of economic and ... and that kind of ... mental ... and physical anguish and despair it's true that difficult I don't remember my friends ... are here today ... the tothe of either committed suicide war ... I just haven't been able to deal with getting back to St ... I decided in that story I've been fat pretty good contact was one of ... the most highly respected and illustrators them in the world pack of Robinson ... and he just come off lone survivor which was the Number one year as the seller ... but presented it to him in the summer of two thousand ate ... and and cocktail party and Lehman and on them ... of that we he said Li later that night over ... a glass of ... cognac use it to ... lean back in a series of letters this thing ever goes that allows how big the bank was ... pretty good he called a first aid ... and sure enough on September sixteen again McCully was over in London ... then he asked the ... older beginnings is unique on over to our night for dinner ... and that was one of those moments in life we have a decision ... they knew something you thought about something you ... probably want to do ... with the decision came ... shield them scientists this is a life changing moment ... had to make the decision because I knew ... that they did at ... least my future industry to be completely different is a big risk because of all the other financial books in the ... Ministry of Finance ... I know many people they will come back to St ...